Rythms of Light and Shadow
by Southern Belle
Summary: Draco gets put in Azkaban...this is mostly and introduction chapter. There will be much more.


He gripped the black bars in front of him. The bars that were preventing him from busting his way out of there. His usually cold eyes were blood-shot and turning a slightly yellow-ish color from lack of sleep, and were fogged over. He did not deserve to be there. No matter what they said, he didn't do what they said he did. 

His father, of course, was trying to blame him for it. And it had been his father, of course, that had done it. Trust Lucius Malfoy to find a scapegoat in his own son. 

The sweat dripped thicker down his face. 

" I DO NOT DESERVE TO BE HERE!! " he screamed desperately at the top of his lungs. " I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" 

After silence answered him, he rested his back against the warm stone wall and slid down. His father knew he didn't like to be in a hot atmosphere, so he had made sure that the Ministry charmed his cell to be ninty-eight degrees. He was about to suffocate. He got but one glass of dirty water a day plus a piece of bread. That was all. He had only been in Azkaban for five days now, but he knew he must have lost some weight. 

He had heard horror stories from people his father knew that had been in Azkaban after the last time Voldemort was here ( they had swindled their way out, of course ) but he never thought that he himself would have to experience it. 

The dementors walked past your cell whenever they thought you were about to have a somewhat happy thought. It was immediately sucked from your very mind and spirit. They seemed to get some sort of sickening joy from seeing the prisoners' minds slowly deteriorate. He knew this because once anyone began to go mad ( he had witnessed them do this himself one night ) they would gather around the cell door listening to their screams. Grown men who had been thought never to falter at the sight of any creature began to whimper and hide in corners the best they could when they thought they heard footsteps coming by. He could hear the cries of women too during the night, and it was night all the time here. No light ever shone into any room. 

Dementors had walked past him so many times he felt that he would never have a single joyful thought again. He knew that if they kept him in there any longer he would begin to halucinate, and eventually go mad. He was already weak with hunger and exhaustion, and he had only been there for a few days...what if he ahd to stay for whole months? He had thought many times of killing himself just like the man in the cell next to him had done two days ago. He would do anything to get out of that place. 

After days of not hearing anything from anyone, he had been informed a few minutes ago that his trial was tomorrow, so he figured he should get some sleep. He pulled off his shirt, which was now soaked from sweat, and threw himself on the floor, hoping the stone floor would be cool. Unfortunately, it wasn't, but he lay there anyway. He jerked upright when a roach crawled across his hand, then slowly lay back down again. It seemed like ages before he fell asleep. 

*** 

" Mr. Malfoy, you say that you witnessed your son torturing muggles by nailing them to the floor of your own house and commiting horrible atrocities to their children. Is this correct?" asked Siamon Bakersfield-Minister of Magic for almost a year now. 

"Yes Sir, that is correct." said Lucius. 

" And he was also wearing the black cloak of a Death Eater?" 

" Yes. You could only imagine the anger I felt when I found him after coming home early from a trip to Germany. My own son doing the one thing I had tried so hard to convince people that our family didn't do." 

" Mr. Malfoy, the court would like it if you would only answer yes or no to the question." 

" Yes Sir." 

" Now, Draco Malfoy, you may have your chance to defend yourself." 

He sat chained to the chair in front of everyone alone in the middle of the floor. His father and others were in the stands, watching and listening for him to defend himself. He didn't at all feel like talking in front of a huge crowd of people like that, but he gained his strength and took a deep, calm breath. 

" Thank you. First off, I would like to say that yes, I was a Death Eater for some time-I admit to it. But I would also like to add that when my father found out that I had fled from the group of fellow Death Eaters that were supposed to help me capture a group of children to use against the parents, and that I had left my cloak with them after I was told from my superior what we were to do to the entire family, he locked me up in one of the cellars below our manor for the rest of the summer. Then, when I finally escaped the dungeons, I found him, my father, on the floor with the muggle children and their parents that had been captured without my help-" 

"ENOUGH BOY! You know very well that it was you that did all of that!" bellowed his father. Bakersfield yelled at everyone to calm down. 

" I did it? I DID IT? It was YOU father, and I find it very cowardly to try and blame this on your own son!" Draco yelled, pulling against the chains binding him to the steel chair, his eyes becoming icy cold and alert again. 

"YOU WILL REGRET THIS BOY!" Lucius yelled back. 

" Regret this? NEVER! The only thing I will ever regret is the fact that I was born into your family!" Sweat was now rushing down his forehead, and his hands were burning from pulling on the chains. Bakersfield was going mad trying to calm everyone down again. 

" Malfoy, I find it very hard to grasp the concept that a Death Eater such as yourself would suddenly take of his cloak and declare that he wasn't going to be one anymore."said a fat wizard somewhere in the crowd. 

" No one has any clue what I have gone through and why I make the decisions I make!" Draco yelled aimlessly. 

" Though that may be we still-" 

" I know one way to settle this whole thing! Someone perform the truth spell on me! NOW!" 

The color quickly drained from Lucius' face. 

" We are going to do that as soon as possible. That was, after we asked you whether you would like to go through that, which could cause possible damage to your mind since we will have to make a very powerful potion to use on you because your father had trained you so well in the dark arts that you would be able to break through an average potion, or you could choose Azkaban." 

" Truth Potion. Now." 

" But Sir! This is not necessary! We have witnesses! Myself and Misters Macnair and Nott-" but Lucius was interrupted. 

" It is necessary. And if what all you have said is true, Mr. Malfoy, then you should have nothing to worry about." 

" But sir-" 

" Enough." 

He saw his father mumble something beneath his breath. He was sure he had cursed at Bakersfield, and he looked as though he were trying to think up a way to get out of this. Stupid git, Draco thought, he should have known that they were going to do this. Too bad daddy dearest, looks like you didn't think this one through enough did you? 

" Draco Malfoy, you will be escorted to your cell where I will be waiting with your potion." said Bakersfield. 

" Yes sir." 

*** 

When he had reached his cell, he had already passed out from having the demetors that had "escorted" him back being so close to him for so long. He awoke a moment after they left, and, after eating some chocolate, he drank the potion. 

Horrible pain went through his entire body. He jerked back in his chair. Damn, I've never seen a truth potion do this to anyone before. After having this go on for what seemed like forever, he relaxed as the pain went away. He could hear his own thoughts faintly in the back of his head, though he couldn't have spoken if he tried. 

" I only need to see what happened that night, and that night alone-the night when the Taylor's were taken to Malfoy Manor, the night the parents were killed and the children left orphaned." said Bakersfield-his two witnesses to the spell, Dumbledore and someone Draco had never seen before, watching every move made and every word said. 

He needs to see? What does he mean see? I have to be asked questions ri- and then he remebered Snape telling them briefly about the different types of Truth potions. He understood what was going on now. 

His chest seemed to open up, and a bright white light lit up the room. And instead of seeing his heart, a scene opened up in front of them-like his body was a light projector and someone was holding pictures in front of it. It showed his father nailing a woman to the floor. She screamed in agony, tears rolling down he face. Lucius stood up and it showed the whole scene- two adults, a man and a woman, nailed to the wooden floor. Lucius walked over to the two small children who were burying their faces in their hands and holding on to one another, crying. His father told the two children to quiten down if they wanted their parents to live. He looked away as Lucius threw one of the children against the floor. 

" Make it stop now-please. " Draco said as the child began to scream and cry even louder than before. 

" That is all we need to see here. " said Bakersfield, and Draco felt his chest close again as the image disappeared. 

" Thank you." Draco said, his head swimming." I dont think it caused permenant damage." 

Bakersfield took a deep breath. " I am sorry, Mr. Malfoy, for your having to stay here. We will have you back to the Manor tonight, and your father will take your place-" 

" No! Please, I don't want to go home. If I were to go home the same thing that happened to those muggles would happen to me! Believe me, I know!" 

" Before you go anywhere I have one more question to ask you." 

" Go for it." 

" Did you really step down from your role as a death eater?" 

" Yes. " Draco said without thinking. 

" Do you plan to go back?" 

" No. I thought you said only one question?" 

" I lied." Bakersfield stood up and opened the door. " We will put you on the Knight Bus to Diagon Alley where you will stay at the Leaky Cauldron. Seeing as neither your nor I seem to think it would be wise to send you home." he smiled a small smile. 

" You are officially released from Azkaban." 

***** 


End file.
